Thank goodness that Speedy is a remarkably tolerant fellow because his life has been pretty boring over the past two weeks. Ever since he was diagnosed with tendonitis (a very slight bow), he's been relegated to stall rest.

He gets to to live in this half.

When I come out to ride, I open his gate to let him wander around the paddock of his stall while I am cleaning and filling feed buckets. He acts like I've set him free on the Great Plains. He sniffs every corner and makes several laps - all at the walk.

The space must feel huge after being cooped up for 23 hours a day on the inside.

Most days I also hand graze him on the lawn around his stall. Actual hand walking is not in the plan yet as we're trying to keep that tendon quiet and still.

He made it two steps.

He is so happy to be doing anything other than standing in his stall that he never even makes it through the gate before he's mowing down the lawn.

The bromance continues

From the very first minute that Izzy was at our barn, Speedy fell in love with him. If Izzy goes anywhere, even just to the other side of the barn, Speedy races around and screams his head off. Since Speedy's life is so monotonous right now, I make sure to do the hand grazing in sight of Izzy, not because Speedy hollers when he's with me (he doesn't), but because he very much enjoys the companionship of another horse.

I had to restock my arsenal.

Other than hand grazing and the freedom to walk around his WHOLE paddock, the only other entertaining thing he gets to do is stand for bandages. Fortunately, Speedy is a saint. He may be bored, but he's also highly intelligent and not too interested in hurting himself. He doesn't kick and bang things, nor does he flip out with energetic explosions. Instead, he relishes the daily attention, even if it's just getting his leg bandaged.

Clean and tight as can be.

Since the very first bandage that I unwrapped, Speedy's leg has been clean and tight with no swelling. When I first took him to the vet ten days ago, the swelling was limited to a tiny area, but the location and shape told me that it was most likely a tendon which is why he went in. I wanted to get it diagnosed as quickly as possible.

We only have two and a half weeks to go before the next ultrasound. I am really encouraged by the lack of any swelling. When I wrapped it last, I switched from a Furacin wrap to a dry bandage, so I'll see today whether not sweating it had any negative consequences, but I doubt it.

We have just a few short weeks to go before he sees Dr. Tolley for a re-check. I am hopeful that Speedy will be back under saddle before he knows it.

It definitely makes things a lot easier. Izzy has proven to be really good in those situations as well. There is nothing worse than having to treat a fractious horse.

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About the Writer & Rider

I am a lifetime rider. I began endurance riding in 1996 where I ultimately completed five, one-day 100 mile races, the 200-mile Death Valley Encounter, and numerous other 50, 65, and 75 mile races. I began showing dressage in 2010.​Welcome to my dressage journey.

About Speedy G

Speedy went from endurance horse to dressage horse. We're currently schooling Third Level in preparation for the 2019 show season. Speedy is a 2004, 15'1 hand, purebred Arabian gelding. His Arabian Horse Registry name is G Ima Starr FA.

August 2018

About Izzy

Izzy was started as a four-year old and then spent the next 18 months in pasture growing up. I bought him as a six-year old, and together, we are schooling the dressage basics. He is a 2008, 16'3 hand warmblood gelding. His Rheinland Pfalz-saar International (RPSI) name is Imperioso.